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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http : //books . google . com/| 1 CHEM.UB. Dr. Kellogg' s Lectures on Practical Health Topics ^^rnrX^xi^f^ Dn Kellogg's Lectures on Practical Health Topics Volume I. Battle Creek, Michigan GOOD HEALTH PUBLISHING CO. 1913 CopTrigtt, 1913, by Good Health Publishing Co. Contents Changing the Intestinal Flora 13 Dangers of School Life 39 The Simple Life in a Nutshell 61 Tobacco — ^Arch Enemy of Efficiency 81 Combating Neurasthenia 95 Life and the Liver 107 on Changing the Intestinal Flora Changing the Intestinal Flora Pasteur discovered that the intestinal tract is swarming with bacteria. Strass- burger and other more recent investigators have estimated the number of these organ- isms produced in the intestinal tract daily to be not less than 150,000,000,000,000, and doubtless the number is sometimes much greater. Pasteur believed and taught that these countless millions of minute organisms were useful and even necessary to the main- tenance of the body in health, that they ren- dered valuable and essential assistance in the process of digestion. More recent studies, however, have shown that Pasteur was in error. Levin, in the study of Arctic animals at Spitzbergen, showed that more than 53 per cent of the animals in that region have no bacteria in the intestinal tract. Nuttall and Thierfelder showed that guinea pigs brought into the world by Caesarian section may be made to grow without contact with bacteria. IS 14 DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES Cohendy has quite recently shown that chickens hatched from eggs free from bac- teria may be raised and made to thrive on food and drink in an atmosphere entirely free from germs. It is now clearly established that we do not live by the aid of the germs that throng our intestines and swarm upon the surface of the body, but rather that we live in spite of these microbic enemies. Two Classes of Germs: The germs that are ordinarily found in the human intestine may be divided into two classes; namely, fermentation germs and putrefaction germs. Fermentation germs feed upon carbohydrates; that is, starch, sugar and dextrin; while putrefaction germs feed upon protein — such substances as the white of eggs, the lean of meat, and the curd of milk. Roughly speaking, we may say that fermentation germs feed upon vegetable and putrefaction germs upon animal substances. These two classes of germs differ very widely in their characteristics and their re- lation to the human body is in each case based upon the substances which they produce by CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 15 their activity. Fermentation germs produce for the most part acids, especially lactic and acetic acids, which, in the small quantities in which they are produced in the body, are practically harmless. Putrefaction germs, on the other hand, produce by the decomposition of proteins, especially when acting upon animal proteins, highly poisonous toxins, many of which closely resemble the venom of snakes and which are capable of producing in the most minute quantities the most alarm- ing and distressing symptoms. Poisoning From Putretcible Colon Omtenis A good illustration of the ill effects of minute doses of these poisons is found in the unpleasant symptoms experienced by contact with putrescible substances; for example, the odors arising from a dead rat in a closet or under the floor, although greatly diluted with air, may give rise to headache, loss of appetite, nausea, and other unpleasant effects. The sickening effects of the odors arising from the fecal discharges of a dog or cat, or of a person accustomed to the free use of meat, clearly demonstrate the potency of 16 DR. K£LLCXX;*S LECTURES these subtle poisoiis. The bowel discharges of a meat-eater, exposed in a closed room, would in an hour or two render the place in- tolerable, even to a very robust person. The writer has known vigorous young men to be made very ill with violent attacks of headache through a few hours' contact with such ma- terial in laboratory work. A moment's con- sideration will show that such corrupt and putrescent matters must be capable of pro- ducing much greater mischief when in the body than after removal from it. If the mere breathing of the greatly diluted volatile poisons arising from such putrescent matter will produce highly unpleasant effects, how much more grave must be the effects when through the retention within the body of these foul substances all of their poisonous contents are absorbed and sucked up into the blood and circulated throughout the body! In other words, when a person through con- stipation throws off through the limgs, kid- neys and skin a large part of the poisonous matters which ought to have been discharged through the bowel, how great must be the mischief done! There is abundant reason CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 17 for believing that the poisoning of the body, or so-called autointoxication, which results from the absorption of poisons from the in- testine, is the chief cause of most chronic dis- eases and of premature senility and decay, as well as a very potent and predisposing cause of most acute maladies. Boieficent or Protective Germs Normal human beings are born into the world entirely free from bacteria. Not a single germ is found in the interior of the new-born infant. Within a few hours after birth (four to six hours in summer, and twenty hours in winter) the intestines of the infant are found to be swarming with bac- teria, the study of which, by Tissier, Esche- rich and numerous other investigators has shown to be of the harmless sort — namely, the fermentation germs or acid- formers. It is the presence of these germs that gives to the stools of a healthy young infant a slightly acid odor. A portion of the bowel discharges of the young infant added to milk does not cause putrefaction of the milk, but simply souring or fermentation. 18 DR. KELLOGGS LECTURES These acid-forming germs play a protective role. Thanks to their presence in the intes- tine, the putrefaction germs cannot thrive, for these organisms cannot grow in the pres- ence of acids. An alkaline medium is needed to promote their growth. Hence, so long as acid-forming germs keep possession of its intestine the infant is safe from the destruc- tive effects of the putrefaction germs, or poison-formers, which are the cause of diarrhea and most other infant troubles. When by the use of cow's milk (that is, ordinary commercial milk), or by other errors in feeding, such as the giving of meat or eggs, overwhelming numbers of putrefac- tion germs are introduced into the intestine and the infant's stools become dark-colored and bad-smelling, then the experienced mother or nurse, as well as the doctor, knows that the child, if not already sick, will soon be sick, and the sickness will be due to the poisons produced by these enemies of life, the germs of putrefaction. As the child advances in years the putre- faction germs increase in number in the in- testine. Through the use of meat, highly CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 19 active putrefaction germs are introduced into the intestine and grow and multiply in great numbers, so that the stools become very of- fensive and chronic autointoxication results. The consequences are constipation, colitis, so-called biliousness, gastritis, inflammation of the gall ducts, gall stones, skin diseases of various sorts, neurasthenia, and after some years Bright's disease, hardening of the arteries, high blood-pressure, apoplexy, paralysis, insomnia, mental depression, and even insanity. The Cause of Old Age Metchnikoff has clearly proved that these putrefaction germs are the cause of early senility, premature old age and death. Among the worst of the putrefaction germs which are commonly found in the intestine in the diseased condition of adult life are the bacillus colt, Welch's bacillus, bacillus pro- tens, bacillus subtilis, streptococcus, enterO' coccus, bacillus putrificus, bacillus paracoli, and sometimes the typhoid bacillus. All these germs produce most virulent poisons, and when present in the feces in large num- 20 DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES bers they are certain proof of the existence of chronic intestinal autointoxication, even though the characteristic symptoms of auto- intoxication have not yet appeared. A coated tongue, a sallow complexion, large circles around the eyes, appearance of brown spots upon the hands or other parts (the so-called liver spots), offensive breath and perspira- tion, the discharge of foul-smelling gases from the bowels, putrid stools, thin, inelastic, parchment-like skin, dullness of mind, in- ability to concentrate the mind, mental irri- tability or depression without apparent cause, cold hands and feet, perspiration of the hands and feet, chronic headache, attacks of migraine or sick headache — ^these and a score of other symptoms which might be mentioned are certain indications of chronic poisoning, prompt attention to which may prevent the development of the later more serious con- ditions, such as hardening of the arteries, Bright's disease with albumen and casts in the urine, or apoplexy with paralysis. Grave symptoms of autointoxication do not appear until after the mechanism of the body, through which nature deals with poisons, de- CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 21 stroying and eliminating them, has broken down and failed to accomplish its purpose as a result of the overwhelming amount of work which has been thrown upon it. Hence, the appearance of symptoms of autointoxication indicate that the body has already become crippled and that the matter must receive serious and immediate attention. Reforming the Intestinal Flora Eminent progressive medical men the world over are rapidly coming to recognize that changing the intestinal flora is an im- portant factor in the treatment of all forms of chronic disease, and that in the great ma- jority of chronic diseases it is the one es- sential thing. Modern researches have clearly shown that the great benefit that has been known to be derived from those methods of treatments which have been most successful have really been due to the influence of these measures upon the intestinal flora. We may mention, for example, the tem- porary benefit derived by the tens of thou- sands of persons who annually visit mineral springs, the waters of which possess laxative 22 DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES properties. Such resorts are popular in all parts of the world, and the benefit derived from the use of such waters is sufficient to attract countless multitudes of visitors year after year; but that these patients are never cured, no matter how much temporary benefit they may derive from the thorough emptying of their intestines and the unloading of ac- cumulated poisons, is shown by the fact that they always return, often being compelled to return at increasingly frequent intervals. Retulti of a Reformed Flora Again, we find in the remarkable effects which have been obtained by various special dietaries an equally good illustration of the curative value of means which influence the intestinal flora. The grape cure, the apple, peach, cherry and other fruit cures, the milk, buttermilk and whey cures — ^all of these cures operate through their influence upon the intestinal flora. The same statement may also apply to the raw food cure, which has acquired considerable vogue in the last few years. Fruits and milk are substances which fer- CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 23 ment but do not putrefy. Hence, when the diet is exclusively confined to these articles, fermentative changes rather than putrefac- tion take place in the intestine, acids are formed instead of poisons, and for the time being the body is delivered from the de- structive influence of the highly potent toxins produced by putrefactive germs when active either within the body or outside of it. Raw foods of a vegetable character are alive and hence able to resist the action of bacteria. Vegetable foods taken in a raw or uncooked state are digested before it is possible for them to undergo destructive changes, and thus their use discourages the growth of bacteria in the intestine, especially those of the putrefactive sort. Dangerous Germs Made Harmless Bienstock showed that the colon germ, which, in the presence of protein (meat, eggs, etc), produces indol and other highly active poisons capable of causing hardening of the arteries, headache, probably Bright's disease, and numerous other disorders, is, in the pres- ence of sugar, incapable of producing these 24 DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES poisonous substances, producing instead harmless acids. Sir Lauder Bninton, of England, and more recently Kennan, in this country, have shown that this is true of practically all putrefactive germs ; that is, the germs which cause putre- faction when growing on protein will, if sup- plied with a sufficient amount of sugar, cease to produce putrefaction and poisons and pro- duce fermentation with harmless acids in- stead. In other words, putrefaction germs may be reformed by simply feeding them with sugar. This explains the fact that eggs, which of all substances most readily undergo putrefaction, may be perfectly preserved by the addition of sugar. It also explains the fact that the pioneer housewife and the nomadic Arab maintain a supply of fresh meat by immersing cutlets in cow's milk or camel's milk. The writer has in his posses- sion a beefsteak which has been kept in a state of perfect preservation for more than six years (since June, 1906) , by immersion in buttermilk made from a culture of the Bacillus Bulgaricus. It appears, then, that putrefactive organ- CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 25 isms, which are now recognized as among the most common and deadly enemies of human life, may actually become harmless and even useful by supplying them with sugar, pro- vided this can be done at the proper time and in the proper place. How to Change the Intestinal Flora After studying this question for more than twenty years, or ever since the appearance of Bouchard's great work, "Autointoxication in Disease, or Self-Poisoning of the Individual," the writer has been fully persuaded that it is possible to change the intestinal flora, and that this change is one of the most practical and important means of combating the great majority of the chronic diseases with which the physician has to deal. A method which has been thoroughly tested is the following: I. The adoption of a strict antitoxic diet. This requires, for most rapid results, the ex- clusion of all animal protein; that is, meat, including fish, fowl and game, as well as beef, mutton and pork, together with eggs and milk and all preparations and dishes con- taining these animal proteins must be strictly 26 DR. K£LLCXX;*S LECTURES avoided. In extreme cases of autointoxica- tion, the strict exclusion of all animal pro- tein is absolutely necessary. In milder cases milk, especially in the form qf buttermilk, may be used. It is important, however, be- fore permitting the use of milk to determine by examination of the feces whether or not the patient is able to digest casein. This must be determined by the application of Tri- boulet's test. When reaction is positive, milk must be discarded. The test shows that casein is not well digested and hence cannot be absorbed in the small intestine, so that when it finds its way into the colon it furnishes food for some of the most active and virulent forms of putrefactive organisms. Cow's milk has been clearly shown to be very poorly adapted to the human digestive apparatus. It acts as a virulent poison in many cases, be- cause, as Tissier has shown, it promotes the growth of organisms which produce highly active toxins. Antitoxic Foods The diet should consist of fruits, cereals, and fresh vegetables, and should include a CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 27 considerable amount of uncooked vegetables, such as lettuce, cucumbers and cabbage. The experiments at the Pasteur Institute have shown that potatoes and dates are partic- ularly valuable as antitoxic foods, for the reason that the carbohydrates which they con- tain — starch in the potato, and sugar in the date — are not fully absorbed in the small in- testine and reach the colon in larger amount than do the carbohydrates of most other foods. Carrots were found by MetchnikoflF's experiments also to be a highly valuable food. Another specially valuable food, of which the writer has made much use with excellent suc- cess, is oatmeal prepared by quick cooking. The steel-cut oats or old-fashioned Scotch oats are better for the purpose than rolled oats. Instead of cooking a long time so as to insure the complete conversion of all the starch, the oatmeal should be stirred in boil- ing water and cooked for five minutes, then set aside for five minutes more, and then served. Oats prepared in this way constitute the brose of the Scotch Highlanders, and is very palatable. Nevertheless, a considerable portion is imperfectly cooked and hence is not 28 DR. KELLOGGS LECTURES readily acted upon by the saliva and intestinal juices, and thus finds its way into the colon, where it may feed the fermentation germs and by its presence prevent the putrefaction germs from making poisons by the decompo- sition of protein. This protective action may be increased by the addition of wheat bran to the oatmeal in the proportion of one part to three by volume measure. The bran will hasten the passage of the oatmeal through the intestinal canal and will thus increase the amount of carbohydrate which reaches the colon. The free use of such saccharine fruits as prunes, figs, and raisins is also a valuable means of introducing carbohydrates in the most available form, since the germs which live in the colon thrive better on a diet of sugar than any other form of carbohydrates. Maltose should be used freely in place of cane sugar as a means of encouraging the growth of the friendly organisms in the in- testine. Increased Intestinal Activity 2. The second step in changing the intes- tinal flora is to increase the activity of the CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 29 intestine. The bowels naturally move three times a day, or at least after each meal. In children, and in many persons who enjoy the best health, the bowels move four times a day — on rising, after breakfast, after dinner, and sometime between supper and bedtime. Three Movements a Day The practice of moving the bowels once a day, or even less frequently is peculiar to civilized people and is a result of the seden- tary life and other abnormal habits which prevail in civilization. The writer has made very thorough-going inquiry among medical missionaries and others who are acquainted with the habits of primitive peoples, and finds that the universal practice among really primitive tribes is to move the bowels three or four times a day. By inquiry at the Lon- don Zoological Gardens we learned that this habit is likewise true of the large apes. The keeper in charge of these animals assured us that the gorilla, chimpanzee and the orang-utan move their bowels regularly four times a day. The smaller monkeys, which were eating almost constantly — ^visitors being 30 DR. KELLOGG*S LECTURES allowed to feed them freely, which was not permitted with the larger apes — amoved their bowels ten or twelve times a day, doubtless the result of the constant stimulation of gastric activity, for food is the natural laxa- tive, contact of food setting up peristaltic activity in the entire alimentary canal. Methods whereby the bowels may be made to move three or four times a day have been fully described elsewhere. In addition, it may be said that this activity may be accom- plished in most cases by the use of bulky food, acid fruits, sweet fruits, and if neces- sary by the use of agar-agar and paraffin oil (colax and para-lax). The cool enema may also be employed if necessary. In many cases special exercises, massage of the colon and other helps are needed, and in excep- tional cases surgical measures are required to break up adhesions, remove obstructions, or to overcome other mechanical obstacles, such as kinks, loops, bands, etc. Prottethre Acid Forming Bacteria 3. Antitoxic or protective ferments. These consist of fermentation or acid-form- CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 31 ing bacteria, which have been shown to be harmless and capable of growing in the in- testine and producing conditions unfavorable for the development of putrefaction germs. The best known of these beneficent germs is the Bacillus Bulgaricus, discovered by Grig- oroff, studied by Tissier of the Pasteur In- stitute, and popularized by Metchnikoff. An- other important protective germ is the BaciU lus bifidus, discovered by Tissier and suc- cessfully used by him in the treatment of thousands of cases. Another important organism, the Bacillus glycobacter, recently discovered by WoUman (Distaso of the Royal Institute of Public Health, London, claims to have discovered the same germ a year earlier than WoUman), is highly ex- tolled by Metchnikoff as a helper for the Bacillus Bulgaricus and other acid-forming germs by the fact that it is capable of form- ing sugar from starch in the colon. This germ greatly increases the efficiency of the Bacillus Bulgaricus and Bacillus bifidus, be- cause it insures them a supply of the food which they require for vigorous development 32 DR. KELLOGGS LECTURES in the colon. The fact that sugar is almost completely absorbed from the small intestine before the digestive contents reach the colon gives the Bacillus Bulgaricus 2l very poor chance to grow and develop in the colon. By aid of the Bacillus glycobacter, however, this difficulty is overcome. By a combination of the Bacillus Bulgaricus, the Bacillus bifidus and the Bacillus glycobacter in a special cul- ture we have found it possible to secure greater and far more rapid results than here- tofore in changing the intestinal flora. By the administration of a sufficient quantity of this culture before each meal, or three times a day, the intestinal flora may be rapidly changed. The Bacillus Bulgaricus appears in the stool within a few days after the ad- ministration of the culture is begun. It is important, of course, that the diet should be thoroughly antitoxic, as above described, and also that the bowels should be made to move three or four times a day, as already indi- cated. It is by the combination of many factors only that the results desired can be obtained. CHANGING THE INTESTINAL FLORA 33 Special Colon Injections 4. Of great value in special cases, partic- ularly in cases of spastic constipation due to colitis, is a measure by means of which change of the flora may be greatly expedited by in- troducing the special culture described in the preceding paragraph, along with milk sugar or malt sugar, into the colon. To accomplish this efficiently the patient is placed in the knee-chest position and by means of a proper instrument, the proctoscope, the culture is passed as high as possible into the pelvic colon. By requiring the patient to retain the knee-chest position for a few minutes, taking deep breaths in the meantime, the culture is carried high up into the colon and by the anti- peristaltic movements of the tranverse colon may be even made to reach the cecum. The quantity of the culture employed may when necessary be increased to a sufficient volume to fill the colon. The culture is usually ad- ministered at night and is if possible retained over night so as to give opportunity for the growth and development of the acid-forming organisms in the colon. 34 DR. KELLCK;G*S LECTURES H— ENEMY OF EFFICIENCY 91 Street. At the inquest the jury's verdict was based on the medical opinion that death was inunediately due to violent emotional excite- ment, aggravated by excessive cigarette smoking." Tobacco Banned by Many Men of AttainmenU The use of tobacco is certainly decreasing among men of science and culture, who in general appreciate more than do others the importance of physical habits in relation to mental efficiency. Oberlin College sets a splendid example in excluding tobacco and tobacco users from its walls. The president and professors are all non-smokers, and students are not permitted to smoke. Prof. E. G. Lancaster, of Olivet College, daughter of Oberlin, and his colleagues are non-users of tobacco and oppose its use. Notwithstanding the fact that their president smokes, only forty per cent of the students of Yale are smokers, thangs to the example and teaching of such men as Prof. Irving Fisher, head of the department of political science, who most earnestly opposes the use of tobacco in any form. Combating Neurasthenia Combating Neurasthenia Neurasthenia is not a disease, but a complex combination of symptoms, the gen- eral cause of which is nerve poisoning. In the first place the body is saturated with poisons which lessen the natural en- ergies of the brain, rendering the brain cells less acute and less capable of mental effort. These poisons are very frequently produced by meat eating, though they may be the result of excessive eating of any sort, especially in sedentary persons who do not exercise sufficiently to burn up the food ma- terial which they take in. For it should be remembered that a sedentary person, no mat- ter how hard he works his brain, consumes in work only three-fifths as much food as does the man who engages actively in muscular pursuits. If he eats as much, the two fifths ex- cess which he takes into his system is rapidly converted into wastes, cinders, as it were, which poison and cripple every tissue, exercising their pernicious influence upon 9B % DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES the brain and nerves, particularly as shown in depression of mind, irritability of temper, confusion of thought, inability to concentrate the mind, indecision, despondency, and other characteristics of neurasthenia. Indigettion and Nenrow Ezhantlioii Indigestion is another very frequent cause of nerve exhaustion. Bouchard has show by incontrovertible evidence that the changes which often take place in the stomach and in- testine, when in a state of indigestion result- ing in fermentation and putrefaction, give rise to poisonous substances which, when ab- sorbed into the body, may produce effects en- tirely similar to those produced by strychnia, opium, alcohol, and other well-known drugs. When food is retained in the stomach be- yond the normal time, either because of its indigestibility, or too large a quantity, or a crippled state of the stomach, these changes are certain to take place. This fact explains a very large share of the myriad symptoms which afflict the neurasthenic. The giddiness, the tingling sensations, the confusion of thought, and often mental incapacity, which COMBATING NEURASTHENIA 97 are not infrequently observed for several hours after meals in chronic dyspeptics, are due to this cause. Here is the explanation of the irascibility, the despondency, the pessim- ism, the indecision, and various other forms of mental perversity, and even moral de- pravity, sometimes developed in persons least expected to exhibit such traits of char- acter. Popular Beverages Ruin Nenret Alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee are also vicious poisons which exert a paralyzing in- fluence upon the nerves. Alcohol, for in- stance, renders a man temporarily insane by paralyzing certain of the nerve cells, so that the brain is unable to form correct judgments. Irregular and unnatural combinations of ideas are formed, often with the most disastrous re- sults. A man who naturally is peaceable, under the influence of liquor becomes violent, destructive, a veritable beast in ferocity. In the disease known as delirium tremens* the nerve contacts become curiously mixed up, so that the sufferer sees snakes, reptiles, and all sorts of monsters and strange shapes be- 96 DR. KELLOGG*S LECTURES fore him. Such a patient once mentioned to me that he saw a sheep with a huge proboscis like an elephant, and chickens with enormous heads and jaws like crocodiles, with their mouths wide open and rushing at him. These facts forcibly impress upon one the evil effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other poisons which paralyze the nerve cells, destroying those cell groupings which are necessary for the maintenance of health of mind and body. The Body Like a Furnace Again, the body is like a furnace. The food that we eat is taken into the body and burned, or oxidized, just as coal is burned in a stove. In the case of the furnace certain gases, the products of combustion, are formed which escape through the chimney. In the same way the products of vital com- bustion or oxidation escape from the body through the lungs, skin, and other excretory organs. When too large an amount of food is taken, the situation of the body is the same as that of a stove or furnace that is over- crowded with fuel; the combustion being incomplete, volumes of smoke are produced COMBATING NEURASTHENIA 99 which choke the fire, and may extinguish it. An excess of food fills the body with or- ganic smoke or imperfectly oxidized waste substances, of which uric acid is the best known representative, and of which rheu- matism, neurasthenia, or nervous prostration, neuralgia, nervous headache, bilious attacks, apoplexy, paralysis, and various other dis- orders, are the natural results. A Factory of Poisons The body is a factory of poisons and if these poisons, which are constantly being pro- duced in large quantities, are imperfectly removed, or are produced in too great quan- tity, as the result of over-feeding, the fluids which surround the brain cells and all the living tissues are contaminated with poison- ous substances, which asphyxiate and para- lyze the cells, and thus interfere with their activity. This fact explains, in part at least, the stupidity which is a common after-dinner experience with many persons, and which, with some people who are habitually gross eaters, is a confirmed, ever-present state. A brain which receives impoverished blood 100 DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES 18 hampered in its activities. A brain sur- charged with blood is, on the other hand overexcited. The result is likely to be sleep- lessness and irritability, and other symptoms of neurasthenia. If the blood is charged with irritating substances, the organs through which it circulates will be naturally ex- posed to abnormal irritation, excitation, and disturbance of function. A brain which receives too large a supply of blood must suffer first and most in this regard. What- ever is taken into the stomach and absorbed enters the blood and circulates through the body. The odor of nicotine which hangs upon the breath of the smoker and the al- coholic odors which emanate from the body of the inebriate for many hours after he has ceased drinking, are evidences of this. Relieving the Nerves Now as to means of relieving this condi- tion. First, the neurasthenic must eat care- fully and take no stimulants of any kind. And — a matter of very grave importance in this connection — he must so regulate the bowel movements as to take care of the waste ma- COMBATING NEURASTHENIA 101 terials which have accumulated. This does not mean once a day, but three times a day. When food is introduced into the stomach a peristaltic wave is set up which travels the entire length of the alimentary canal, and which, when not thwarted, unloads the waste materials from the body. In making observations of these move- ments Doctor Cannon, of Harvard Univer- sity, studied the action of the alimentary canal in a cat by means of the X-ray. He watched the food pass from the stomach into the alimentary* canal, and from the alimentary canal into the colon. Here he found two movements. One was a constant movement from the middle of the colon upward, the purpose of which is to retain the fluid por- tions of the food in the cecum until absorp- tion has taken place. The second movement came at regular intervals and was a down- ward movement, larger and stronger than the other. Colonic Cleanliness When the unusable residues finally reach the lower part of the colon, they should be 102 DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES prompdy expelled ; if this is not done, the re- sult is constipation, the worst evil that affiicts humanity, the most dangerous of all forms of intoxication the body knows. We might, in- deed, call constipation a veritable Pandora's box of mischiefs, for malignant germs, scores of varieties of them, thrive there, each kind producing its particular poison, and making possible a great variety of symptoms of chronic intestinal activity. Professor Bouch- ard has shown that often the contents of the intestines consist of one-half bacteria, and these poisons, which are retained in the body, affect not only the skin, which becomes tainted and discolored, but also the nerves and the brain, the very seat of neurasthenia. Dermic Cleanliness Neglect to bathe the skin, allowing it to become foul, is considered a hideous and un- healthful thing — an unclean covering skin is far less objectionable than a foul inside skin. 'I he body, remember, is merely a double tube with a covering skin and an inside skin — the lining of the alimentary canal. Now, if the covering skin becomes foul, much of the im- COMBATING NEURASTHENIA 103 purity is cast off — ^by perspiration and in various other ways ; but if, on the other hand, the lining skin is allowed to become foul, the impurities are absorbed into the blood and the body is poisoned. In order to remove neurasthenia, you must clean up the body and keep it clean. A man once came to me and said, '^Doctor, tell me just what to eat. I want to be cured, and if you tell me to eat sawdust, why, I'll eat sawdust. I will do just what you say for three weeks; but at the end of that time I want to get back to my regular life." There is no hope for that sort of a neurasthenic. He has not yet reached the point where he is willing to be cured and stay cured. The most important thing for the neurasthenic is to be delivered from bad habits — from cigars, from tea and coffee, from beefsteaks — and to train the body into a condition in which it will throw off the wastes that are constantly accumulating. The Body Filters In this connection let me caution you to re- member that when the bowels are not active 104 DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES the kidneys have to carry off a great many of the poisons which accumulate in the colon, with the result that these delicate filters are ruined. How long, think you, would a Pas- teur filter remain intact if every day a quan- tity of filth were poured into it? The kidneys are delicate filters, and in load- ing them down with poisons that come from putrefaction we ruin them. A man in perfect health, with sound kidneys and a sound liver, may be able to tolerate these poisons for a long time, but he is constantly undermining his health, and will reach the time when his body will not stand the damage any longer. Like a battleship on fire — ^the fire burns and continues to burn, but after a while it gets to the magazine and the ship blows up. So it is with the man who goes on with his bad habits — eventually the disease processes reach the vital point and he collapses. ife and the Liver Life and the Liver More people complain about their livers than about any other organ of the body, when, as a matter of fact, of all the organs of the body the liver is almost the least worthy of blame. It is the most untiring in its eflforts to preserve our lives ; it is the most industrious; and, aside from the brain, it is the most wonderful and the most mysterious organ of the body. It carries on a large number of activities. It secretes, it excretes, it creates, it destroys, it tears down and builds up. It seems to be a sort of jack-of-all-trades in the body, and an expert in every one of them, and yet the most powerful microscope reveals in its simple structure no hint of this marvelous diversity of function. Bfle-Makmg Functions of the Liver One of these many functions that the liver performs is the making of bile, of which it produces from sixteen to twenty-four ounces every twenty-four hours. Bile is one of the 107 108 DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES most poisonous of body wastes and needs to be eliminated from the system as speedily as possible. It is composed not only of alkaline wastes, but also of bacteria which have been removed from the blood, and of various poisonous substances which may have been taken into the stomach with food or drink. It serves a number of useful purposes, being an antiseptic, a laxative, an aid to absorption, and prevents the acid gastric juice from di- gesting the small intestine by neutralizing its acrid acid. The Manufacture of Glycogen Glycogen, one of the essentials of life, a substance needed by every living cell, is an- other product of the liver. Glycogen is a product of sugar brought to the liver from the intestine by the portal vein. This sugar, however, is not the ordinary cane sugar with which we are familiar, but a fruit sugar formed by the digestion of starch. In dia- betes this function is disturbed; the body gradually loses its power to store glycogen, and death occurs. Waste substances produced by the work UFE AND THE LIVER 109 of the body or by putrefaction in the intes- tines, or that have been taken into the body with food such as uric acid, are in part con- verted into urea by means of special ferments which are formed by the cells of the liver. The discovery of this important function of the liver explains the zoological fact that car- nivorous animals, and especially scavenger animals, have extraordinarily large livers. A dog has a liver four times as large as that of a man in proportion to its size, because it has so many of these poisons to take care of. If man had a liver as large in proportion as that of a turkey buz- zard, there would be no room left for the other organs of the abdominal re- gion. Large meat eaters compel their livers to do three or four times as much work as is required with a low-protein or non-flesh diet- ary. It was on this ground that the late Professor Dujardin-Beaumetz, of Paris, for- bade (he use of flesh foods of all sorts in all cases of disease of the liver and kidneys. In recent times it has been demonstrated that the vital processes of the body have two quite independent sources of regulation — ^the 1 10 DR. KELLCXIG'S LECTURES nerve centers, on the one hand, which send out exciting and controlling nerves, and, on the other hand, internal secretions which act in relation to such great functions as muscular activity. The action of every muscle, of every gland, probably of every cell, is controlled by these remarkable and subtle substances, of which many eminent physiologists believe the liver is the chief source. It is readily ap- parent, then, how great must be the disturb- ance of the vital machinery when through any cause the functions of the liver become de- ranged, as in the condition commonly known as "biliousness." This term, while not scientific, is nevertheless significant in that it suggests a disturbance of the bile-making organ, which is in a condition of enormous overwork and inability to meet the extraordi- nary and unnatural demands made upon it. The Liver a Life Preserver Every person is indebted to his liver for rescue from speedy death. This marvelously versatile organ has power to destroy poisons. If a person drinks water containing lead, or eats peas or pickles colored green with cop- UFE AND THE LIVER 1 1 1 per, the liver seizes upon the poisonous metal, and after discharging as much of it as possible through the bile, gathers the re- mainder up in its cells, thus preventing the circulation of the poison to the rest of the body. When a person is found suffering from metal poisoning, the fact is evident that the liver has been seriously damaged; otherwise other organs would not have suffered. The smoker, the user of alcohol, and the opium slave would have suffered death from the first indulgence in the poison were it not for this marvelous function of the liver. Tea and coffee, too, are active agents in causing pre- mature breakdown of this important vital machine ; and the same must be said of con- diments, mustard, pepper, capsicum, spices, vinegar, hot sauces, and the use of chemical substances in bread making. All of these sub- stances should be carefully avoided, unless one wishes to die prematurely. A brief study of the physiology of the liver and its relation to the circulation of the blood will explain the manner in which this protec- tive function of the liver is performed, and emphasize the importance of not overtaxing 112 DR. KELLOGG'S LECTURES It by the use of poison-producing foods and beverages, and irritating spices and condi- ments. First let us examine the heart. The Syitemic Circulatimi Now the human heart is really not a single organ, but a double heart — a left and right heart, as will be seen from the illustration. Some animals have three or four hearts lo- cated in different places, but the human system has but one, divided into two sections — as we have said, the right and left heart. The left auricle and left ventricle pump the pure blood through the aorta into the arteries and capillaries in all parts of the body, where it is gathered up by the veins and carried into the vena cava, the large central vein that carries the impure blood back to the right heart. This is known as the "systemic circulation." The Puknonary Circulation By the right heart the blood is pumped into the pulmonary artery, whence it is carried to the lungs. The blood now circulates through all parts of the lungs, becoming oxygenized UFE AND THE LIVER 1 13 and freed from the Impurities which it has picked up in its journey from the left heart. From the lungs the blood travels by way of the pulmonary veins back to the left heart, whence it is ready to set out again on the journey of the systemic circulation. This circuit, from the right back to the left heart, is called the "pulmonary circulation." Portal Circalatioii The most interesting part of the story has yet to be told, however. Part of the blood, after it leaves the left ventricle, leaves the systemic circulation and is distributed to the stomach, intestines, pancreas, spleen and other organs. From these various organs the blood is conveyed by a large vessel, known as the "portal vein," to the liver, where it is filtered, as it were, and the grossest of the poisons from the organs just named are removed. In this way all the materials absorbed by the veins of the stomach during digestion are submitted to inspection before being allowed to enter the general circulation. From the liver the blood is carried to the "ascending vena cava" by means of the he- UFE AND THE LIVER 115 patic vein, and is then carried to the right heart. This circulation of the blood through the stomach, intestines, pancreas and spleen is known as the "portal circulation." Great Importance of the PcHTtal Cirodatimi Now the integrity of the portal circulation is of the utmost importance. All the poisons which the blood carries from the stomach, the spleen, the pancreas, and the intestines are carried by the portal vein into the liver — poisons, that is to say, which have been ab- sorbed from the stomach and other organs, and poisons that have been ingested with the food and drink. The most vicious of these poisons the liver destroys ; the others are car- ried on by the blood into the hepatic vein, which returns it to the systemic circulation. The Liver an hidispensaUe Organ This destruction of poisons by the liver is one of the most important processes in the entire body. People have been known to live without a stomach, and still others with but one kidney, while portions of the intestinal canal have been removed without any ap- 116 DR. KELLOGCS LECTURES preciable effect on the patient; but remove any portion of the liver from an individual and he will be fatally poisoned by the toxins which enter the general circulation without being filtered out. Bflioufliesi Means Antointoricatkm Now there are many people who suffer from bilious attacks. Their livers have been crippled to such a degree that it is almost as much disabled as if the operation had been performed. The bilious attack means simply poisoned blood — ^in other words, autointoxi- cation. The poisons of autointoxication are the most deadly that are introduced into the body. Now if a butcher cuts his finger with a knife with which he has been cutting meat, he may die of blood-poisoning, but he can take an equal amount of the same poison into his stomach and it will not kill him, because the liver takes care of these poisons. Hie Meainre ol the Heart's Work Now, in order to be effective in its work of removing impurities from the body, the blood UFE AND THE UVER 117 must have an uninterrupted flow through all the blood-vessels. The blood after leaving the left ventricle, passing from the aorta, enters a vast network of fine capillaries be- fore it empties again into the vena cava. Again, the blood must traverse a vast capil- lary system before the blood passes through the pulmonary circulation back to the left heart. To propel the blood through the blood-vessels of the body, the heart pumps night and day without any rest, except what it gains between beats. Thus, the total amount of work done by the heart in twenty- four hours in its contractions, in an average man, is about one hundred and twenty-four foot-tons; that is, it is equivalent to lifting one hundred and twenty-four tons one foot high, or lifting a one-hundred pound weight one foot high 2,480 times, or at the rate of about four times a minute for a period of ten hours. A Force Pomp The heart, indeed, is in effect a force- pump, as will be recognized by the second of the two pictures. The "arterial system" is 1 18 DR. KELLCXiG'S LECTURES a great reservoir into which the heart is con- stantly pumping blood with a force that is constantly maintained. From the arterial system the blood passes through the capil- laries (indicated in the illustration by fine horizontal lines) into the venous system (represented in the illustration at the left by the sections labeled '^skin and muscles") and into the portal system. The venous blood of the skin and muscles is carried directly to tne right heart, while that of the i>ortal system, or ^'splanchnic area," has to pass through the liver for the removal of its poisons. Elastic Arteries In view of the constant pressure of the blood exerted by the action of the heart, the importance of keeping the blood-vessels elas- tic and healthy is very apparent. With each beat of the heart the vessels are distended by the flow of blood. If, however, they become hardened so that they do not give, the blood does not readily press its way through, which, especially in the case of the arterial system, creates an abnormal pressure that results in increasing degeneration of the vessels, with UFE AND THE UVER 119 ultimate rupture of the vessels or heart failure. Causes of Arterial Hardening There are various causes of degeneration of the arteries, or arteriosclerosis, the most common, perhaps, being wrong habits of eating — ^the use of tobacco, alcohol, tea and coffee, and meat and other foods rich in pro- tein, charging the blood with poisons which irritate the walls of the arteries and veins and encourage a condition which leads to arterio- sclerosis. Other poisons and irritants which should be omitted from the dietary are spices and condiments of every kind. It has been said, indeed, that arteriosclerosis commences by poisoning, continues by poisoning, and ends by poisoning. This poisoning, accord- ing to Huchard, is generally due to errors in diet. This is well shown by the fact that the toxic dyspnea — a form of asthma which ac- companies intestinal autointoxication— disap- pears very quickly on the adoption of a non- flesh dietary. An interesting observation of Huchard's is the fact that in many cases of intestinal autointoxication there is an increase 120 DR. KELLOGGS LECTURES of blood-pressure. These cases were re- ferred to by old medical authors as pas- sive hyperemia of the liver, or abdominal plethora. In these cases there are found enlargement of the liver, bronchitis, and fre- quently pulmonary congestion and cardiac feebleness. The congested liver is unable to perform its poison-destroying functions. As a result, various toxic substances absorbed from the intestines are distributed by the blood throughout the body, and, coming in contact with the tissues, irritate the walls of the blood-vessels and cause these tissues to thicken and degenerate. We have pointed out, then, that under the conditions of our modern civilized life, the ordinary mixed diet introduces into the sys- tem an enormous number of germs. The poisons produced by some of these germs are identical with those produced by the putrefac- tion of a dead animal or a decayed egg. In moderate quantities the liver is able to deal with these poisonous products, but its ca- pacity is limited; hence the ' 'biliousness'' which results from constipation, over-eating, and the free use of meats. These bacteria UFE AND THE LIVER 121 are constantly passing through the intestinal wall into the veins and thus find their way to the liver. The liver cells destroy many of these, but great numbers often find their way into the gall bladder, causing inflammation of the gall bladder and gall stones. Constant Care of the Liver Essential An organ possessed of so many, such de- licate, and such wonderful functions, and whose activities are so essential to life and well-being, certainly needs the best of care, even though such care require some restric- tion of appetite, for foods which, while af- fording a momentary tickle of the palate or a certain measure of ^'unearned felicity," may be at the same time making huge breaches in the walls of defense which protects the citadel of human life. Role of Constipation Finally, it should be made known that one of the most active, perhaps the most common and most potent of all causes of arterio- sclerosis as well as of diseases of the heart and kidneys, is constipation. By the retention of